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Kuster grabs camera of opponent's staffer

Congressional candidate Annie Kuster briefly took a camera from her opponent's campaign worker at a rally last week after she said she was being badgered.

After Vice President Joe Biden finished his remarks at a rally Friday, Kuster was approached by a camera-wielding supporter of her opponent, U.S. Rep Charlie Bass.

Video from the camera shows that Kuster at first tried to walk away from the man, but when he follows, she reacts, reaching for the camera and coming away with it.

On the video, Kuster accuses the man of harassing her and says she will call Bass to discuss returning it. She also makes a salty comment toward the man.

Kuster ended up giving the camera to one of her supporters, who in turn gave it back to the Bass supporter within a couple of minutes. Wednesday, Kuster called the whole thing a setup.

"I just think it's bullying," she said. "It's political bullying."

Kuster said she was basically defending herself when she grabbed at the camera.

"I was just literally protecting my face from getting struck," she said. "As you can see on that video, it was so close to me."

The Bass campaign sees it differently

"She initiated the contact," said Scott Tranchemontagne, spokesman for the Bass campaign. "She lunged forward and grabbed the camera and said what she said."

As for the supporter's actions leading up to the incident, the Bass campaign said he was well within bounds.

"He simply wanted to ask her a question and get her to comment on Joe Biden's address," Tranchemontagne said.

The use of staffers as campaign trackers has become commonplace in politics, and analyst James Pindell said that in the case, Kuster may have played into the hands of the Bass campaign.

"With the millions of dollars to be spent on this race, this is likely not to be the defining moment," Pindell said. "But for Annie Kuster, who has been the ultimate discipline candidate, this is one rare moment where she was not disciplined."

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